There's raping a childhood, and then there's whoring out a childhood

[clevermanka]

Sanrio, in a truly remarkable feat of marketing, managed to do both. This is offensive. Tank tops, high heeled boots? Hello, Slutty! *weeps*

Comments

[tessagratton.livejournal.com]

*gag*

How aweful. Poor Kitty.

[tessagratton.livejournal.com]

When making a comment in your journal, the box is black and so is the text, so i can't really see what I'm typing. I don't know if it's just me of if it's a new journal style thing... just fyi. itmight explain typos in yourjournal like "aweful..."

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

What the heck? I'll go see what's up...it didn't always used to be like that, did it?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

OK, quick fix. I don't like it, but at least people can see what they're typing. Thanks for the heads-up.

[tessagratton.livejournal.com]

Sure thing! And no, it didn't used to be like that.

[adammaker.livejournal.com]

I should have seen this coming once she got those "nice headlights (http://gizmodo.com/archives/hello-kitty-headlamps-009230.php)" 2 years ago.
I wonder how the other icons will change.

[platofish.livejournal.com]

I guess while there are people who do this to their 5 year old girl....



there will be parents who think the new Kitty is 'cool'.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I can't even begin to understand that. I don't want to.

[geekmom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't get it either. There's apparently quite the market to go from this to this:

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, MY EYES!!!!

[geekmom.livejournal.com]

See, if I wanted a doll, I'd have just gone to the store to buy one.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Meh. It doesn't look slutty to me.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Well, no. She doesn't have any secondary sexual characteristics. But, gods help my eyes, it gives the impression of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Disney Hooker!

And I don't have issues with Slutty, per se. I, myself, dress sluttily on a regular basis. But I'm not marketing myself to pre-teen girls.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Considering the merchandise out there, I am dubious that Hello Kitty is marketed primarily toward pre-teens. The average goth shop is filled with Hello Kitty shit, and you can stay at a Hello Kitty-themed S&M hotel suite (http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/5/16/104138/231/hotels/Hello_Kitty_S_M_Room_At_Hotel_Adonis_Osaka), or buy Sanrio condoms and vibrators (http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/9938/archive/arch120.html). I think Sanrio's famous characters are marketed for all ages.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

you can stay at a Hello Kitty-themed S&M hotel suite

*pauses to consider if I would actually stay there*

I hadn't realized Sanrio had expanded their marketing quite to that extent. Huh. Well, times sure change, don't they!

[stuology.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to confess what show I was watching, but during an episode, they were featuring Japanese street fashion that is popular with teen - early 20s woman(girls). It looks very much like what that Hello Kitty is wearing.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

What with the info shanmonster gave me, and now this tidbit, I think I'm now just annoyed with the pervading Bad Fashion Sense of it all.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Yah, if they're gonna go cute and retro, why did it have to look so freakin' 80s? All she needs is lil mesh/lace Madonna fingerless gloves.

[ladyniniane.livejournal.com]

Sanrio's marketing strategy in the U.S. is substantially different than what they do in Japan and other countries. Take a look at http://www.sanrio.co.jp to compare the differences (there is an English button in the upper right corner if you want to see the 'hybrid' site).

And, yes, Hello Kitty is marketed to all ages over in Japan - they just move the 'adult' stuff to the back of the store (or behind the front page on websites) and put up signs reminding the youngsters not to go back there (which is the same thing they do in most of the used book stores). The kids mostly avoid the adult sections, just as they ignore the beer vending machines on the street (yes, they do...).

(I learned what the kanji for "Adult only" was during my first visit to Japan - walked to the back of a Book-Off store, looking for a particular manga series, stepped into the back aisle, and then stepped out again rather quickly. I am no prude, but I was there in a teacher position - not the best place for me to be seen if students come in. I asked one of the English teachers later about enforcement of the adult sections, and she indicated that the students really do stay out of the marked areas.)

[chronovore.livejournal.com]

"Bad girl" Hello Kitty is a trend in Japan right now. Recently they've had her as "bad girl student" and "girl gang member" on various t-shirts. The style is interesting; I think it's meant to be ironic.